Well, they ran another CAT scan today, this one more thorough than the first. The results came back with the prognosis that Mom might need surgery, but for what we're not sure yet. The doctor will be in to see her first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll know then. If she *does* need surgery, it will take place at 3:15pm (EST).
Unfortunately, I'll be at work until 3pm so most likely won't be able to get here to post anything even though I'll have heard the results. So, if you're so led, pray for Mom throughout the day and especially around the 3 o'clock hour.
I'll update again tomorrow night.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Update on Mom -- God is good
A lot of people have asked me about Mom, so I'll share the latest update with you.
It's been a grueling week to be sure. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can't possibly respond to everyone individually, so I'm sending it out to the loop.
Mom was moved out of the ER early Thursday morning and admitted into the hospital. She waited in what is called the "observation ward" for a room for the rest of the night and most of Thursday, with a few more tests run, but not much. Finally, she was given a room around 5pm Thursday night and we went to go see her that evening. She looked good, her low-grade fever was gone, and the antibiotics they're giving her eliminated all her pain. Praise the Lord!
The only difficult part that night was a tube inserted through her nose down to her stomach to empty out the contents of her stomach (fluids and bile, etc.) in a slow process overnight. Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep. But I just spoke to her this morning and she said her doctor didn't either that night (analyzing test reports and data to isolate the cause of her infection), so I suppose turnaround is fair play. Still haven't identified the cause. Seesawing between possible appendicitis, small ulcer, lower intestinal problems or even salmonella poisoning.
They're going to run another CAT scan tomorrow and she'll most likely be coming home on Monday. Then, she'll remain on antibiotics for 2-3 weeks to make sure all infection is gone. At that time, they might decide to pull the appendix anyway and possibly go in with a scope of some sort to take a look at everything.
In the meantime, she has her Bible and devotionals, 2 fiction books and some humor books to keep her occupied. She's also received several visitors and of course enduring the interruptions of the nurses every 2 hours to check her vitals. And they expect you to get some sleep? How?
God always has His reasons, and He doesn't always share them with us. But perhaps this is a time for her to spend communing with Him and drawing closer without all of life's day-to-day distractions. He's given me and our family definite pieace about it all, and I wanted to share the latest.
It's been a grueling week to be sure. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can't possibly respond to everyone individually, so I'm sending it out to the loop.
Mom was moved out of the ER early Thursday morning and admitted into the hospital. She waited in what is called the "observation ward" for a room for the rest of the night and most of Thursday, with a few more tests run, but not much. Finally, she was given a room around 5pm Thursday night and we went to go see her that evening. She looked good, her low-grade fever was gone, and the antibiotics they're giving her eliminated all her pain. Praise the Lord!
The only difficult part that night was a tube inserted through her nose down to her stomach to empty out the contents of her stomach (fluids and bile, etc.) in a slow process overnight. Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep. But I just spoke to her this morning and she said her doctor didn't either that night (analyzing test reports and data to isolate the cause of her infection), so I suppose turnaround is fair play.
They're going to run another CAT scan tomorrow and she'll most likely be coming home on Monday. Then, she'll remain on antibiotics for 2-3 weeks to make sure all infection is gone. At that time, they might decide to pull the appendix anyway and possibly go in with a scope of some sort to take a look at everything.
In the meantime, she has her Bible and devotionals, 2 fiction books and some humor books to keep her occupied. She's also received several visitors and of course enduring the interruptions of the nurses every 2 hours to check her vitals. And they expect you to get some sleep? How?
God always has His reasons, and He doesn't always share them with us. But perhaps this is a time for her to spend communing with Him and drawing closer without all of life's day-to-day distractions. He's given me and our family definite pieace about it all, and I wanted to share the latest.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Medieval Romance to Contemporary Chic Lit?
That's what happened to best-selling author, Tamara Leigh, when she got the call from God to write Christian chic lit instead of her trademark medieval romances.
The result? An hilarious trip inside the secret chambers of the publishing world from the perspective of Adda, an author. It's a book you don't want to miss!
* * * * *
INTERVIEW
First things first-do you blog?
Is this a joke? If not, someone really needs to inform the publisher of my well-thumbed, slightly warped college dictionary that there's an empty space between Bloemfontein (capital of Orange Free state, in the central Republic of South Africa) and Bois (city in central France on the Loire River) where "blog" ought to be. But just to be certain, I probably should "google" it (see, I'm not completely backward).
Aha!!
blog--short form of weblog; newsletter or journal updated frequently and intended for public viewing; generally represents an author's personality
Sounds important. Better look into it further. Perhaps the designer of my new website has some insight....What do you know! I have a blog. Really. And don't I feel silly....
So do I blog? Uh...yeah. Blog's my middle name.
How many books have you published to date?
My first book, WARRIOR BRIDE, was published by Bantam in 1994 and was followed by six more medieval romances--four with Bantam, two with HarperCollins, and one with Dorchester. STEALING ADDA makes number eight!
How much of the book is based on your experience in the publishing world?
Ooh. Must not forget the "This novel is a work of fiction" disclaimer.... Naturally, many of my own experiences in the publishing world of romance served as the foundation upon which STEALING ADDA was written. Unfortunately, my experiences are nowhere near as exciting, entertaining, or devastating as Adda's. Or perhaps fortunately, hmm?
Are you concerned that publishers and editors will take offense to the insider's look you provide of that world?
Sometimes the truth hurts. The good news is that publishers and editors aren't the ones who'll be buying STEALING ADDA. Hmm...that could come back to haunt me. In which case--Nah. As the majority of publishers and editors are New Yorkers, they're hardly thin-skinned. In fact, some might think I painted a pretty rosy picture of their world.
What turned you from writing historicals to writing contemporaries?
That would be my therapist. Just kidding. Actually, I went on strike--as in burned out, disillusioned, and fed up. But that's another story Adda could tell far better than I.
Which is harder, historicals or contemporaries?
Historicals. Definitely. Though the medieval time period remains my first love and I hope to write more for the inspirational market, I've never had as much fun writing a book as I did when I tackled STEALING ADDA.
Will we see more of Adda in future books?
It's possible Adda will pop up again, as there's certainly more of her--and Nick!--to be told. We shall see...
The result? An hilarious trip inside the secret chambers of the publishing world from the perspective of Adda, an author. It's a book you don't want to miss!
* * * * *
INTERVIEWFirst things first-do you blog?
Is this a joke? If not, someone really needs to inform the publisher of my well-thumbed, slightly warped college dictionary that there's an empty space between Bloemfontein (capital of Orange Free state, in the central Republic of South Africa) and Bois (city in central France on the Loire River) where "blog" ought to be. But just to be certain, I probably should "google" it (see, I'm not completely backward).
Aha!!
blog--short form of weblog; newsletter or journal updated frequently and intended for public viewing; generally represents an author's personality
Sounds important. Better look into it further. Perhaps the designer of my new website has some insight....What do you know! I have a blog. Really. And don't I feel silly....
So do I blog? Uh...yeah. Blog's my middle name.
How many books have you published to date?My first book, WARRIOR BRIDE, was published by Bantam in 1994 and was followed by six more medieval romances--four with Bantam, two with HarperCollins, and one with Dorchester. STEALING ADDA makes number eight!
How much of the book is based on your experience in the publishing world?
Ooh. Must not forget the "This novel is a work of fiction" disclaimer.... Naturally, many of my own experiences in the publishing world of romance served as the foundation upon which STEALING ADDA was written. Unfortunately, my experiences are nowhere near as exciting, entertaining, or devastating as Adda's. Or perhaps fortunately, hmm?
Are you concerned that publishers and editors will take offense to the insider's look you provide of that world?
Sometimes the truth hurts. The good news is that publishers and editors aren't the ones who'll be buying STEALING ADDA. Hmm...that could come back to haunt me. In which case--Nah. As the majority of publishers and editors are New Yorkers, they're hardly thin-skinned. In fact, some might think I painted a pretty rosy picture of their world.
What turned you from writing historicals to writing contemporaries?
That would be my therapist. Just kidding. Actually, I went on strike--as in burned out, disillusioned, and fed up. But that's another story Adda could tell far better than I.
Which is harder, historicals or contemporaries?
Historicals. Definitely. Though the medieval time period remains my first love and I hope to write more for the inspirational market, I've never had as much fun writing a book as I did when I tackled STEALING ADDA.
Will we see more of Adda in future books?
It's possible Adda will pop up again, as there's certainly more of her--and Nick!--to be told. We shall see...
Can Fiction Spark a Revival?
That's an interesting question. I can't tell you how often I hear "educated" and "spiritual" people talk about how trivial fiction is and how it's not as deep as nonfiction or God's word. Nothing compares to the Bible, but I beg to differ about comparing nonfiction to fiction and seeing fiction lacking.
Our own Lord taught through stories (parables), which were fictionalized accounts of people and events that taught a lesson or left you encouraged. Fiction is exactly that.
So, can fiction spark a revival? I'm not sure. But it can certainly get a great discussion going!
* * * * *
What if your task was to lead your greatest rival to the Lord? And what if God chose your rival and not you to lead a national revival? That's the premise of Storm.
Approximately six months before his death, Dr. Bright teamed up with best-selling author Jack Cavanaugh to write a series of books to create a hunger for revival in America. Knowing it was unlikely that Dr. Bright would live to see the publication of the project, the authors spent intensive sessions forming the novels, after which Dr. Bright signed off and allowed Mr. Cavanaugh to write them.
This month marks the release of Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh's Storm.
INTERVIEW
Tell us about the conception of The Great Awakenings series.
This series was born out of a shared desire for revival in our country. When Dr. Bright and I learned that we were both praying for revival, it seemed only natural that we would team up to write this series about the historic revivals in America.
There are so many unexpected twists in Storm, were those plots twists made during the planning sessions with Dr. Bright, or were they inspired as you wrote?
The creation of a novel has many stages. Before he passed away, Dr. Bright and I met and prayed and sketched out the broad strokes for not only Storm, but three other stories as well. We knew that unless God intervened in a miraculous way, Dr. Bright would not be alive to see the release of any of the books. My task has been to bring our stories to life.
As you researched the revivals that once swept our country, what most affected you?
Two things: First, that God so often chooses common, ordinary people to be the spark for the extraordinary outpouring of His Spirit. Second, the unexpected nature of revival. Not only the timing of revival, which is wholly in God's hands, but the unimaginable wonder of it all. The historical events that occurred are far more fantastic and wondrous than anything we could have imagined.
Do you consider Storm a character or plot driven novel?
Storm is a character driven novel. But don't mistake that for lack of action. Character driven simply means that readers keep reading because they want to find out what happens next to the characters. Storm is a personal duel between two men. Imagine if you were given the task of leading your greatest rival to the Lord. The one person you can't stand. The person who annoys and torments you endlessly. Then imagine you learned that God had chosen him, a non-Christian, and not you, to start a national revival. That's exactly what happens in Storm.
What do you hope your readers will take with them from this series?
That's easy. When we began this project, Dr. Bright and I got on our knees and prayed that after reading these novels Christians would turn their hearts to God and cry out, "Lord, do it again."
Our own Lord taught through stories (parables), which were fictionalized accounts of people and events that taught a lesson or left you encouraged. Fiction is exactly that.
So, can fiction spark a revival? I'm not sure. But it can certainly get a great discussion going!
* * * * *
What if your task was to lead your greatest rival to the Lord? And what if God chose your rival and not you to lead a national revival? That's the premise of Storm.
Approximately six months before his death, Dr. Bright teamed up with best-selling author Jack Cavanaugh to write a series of books to create a hunger for revival in America. Knowing it was unlikely that Dr. Bright would live to see the publication of the project, the authors spent intensive sessions forming the novels, after which Dr. Bright signed off and allowed Mr. Cavanaugh to write them.This month marks the release of Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh's Storm.
INTERVIEW
Tell us about the conception of The Great Awakenings series.
This series was born out of a shared desire for revival in our country. When Dr. Bright and I learned that we were both praying for revival, it seemed only natural that we would team up to write this series about the historic revivals in America.There are so many unexpected twists in Storm, were those plots twists made during the planning sessions with Dr. Bright, or were they inspired as you wrote?
The creation of a novel has many stages. Before he passed away, Dr. Bright and I met and prayed and sketched out the broad strokes for not only Storm, but three other stories as well. We knew that unless God intervened in a miraculous way, Dr. Bright would not be alive to see the release of any of the books. My task has been to bring our stories to life.
As you researched the revivals that once swept our country, what most affected you?
Two things: First, that God so often chooses common, ordinary people to be the spark for the extraordinary outpouring of His Spirit. Second, the unexpected nature of revival. Not only the timing of revival, which is wholly in God's hands, but the unimaginable wonder of it all. The historical events that occurred are far more fantastic and wondrous than anything we could have imagined.
Do you consider Storm a character or plot driven novel?
Storm is a character driven novel. But don't mistake that for lack of action. Character driven simply means that readers keep reading because they want to find out what happens next to the characters. Storm is a personal duel between two men. Imagine if you were given the task of leading your greatest rival to the Lord. The one person you can't stand. The person who annoys and torments you endlessly. Then imagine you learned that God had chosen him, a non-Christian, and not you, to start a national revival. That's exactly what happens in Storm.
What do you hope your readers will take with them from this series?
That's easy. When we began this project, Dr. Bright and I got on our knees and prayed that after reading these novels Christians would turn their hearts to God and cry out, "Lord, do it again."
Distractions and Focus
Wow. Amazing how quickly time slips by without your notice. Seems like only yesterday I was composing my last post, and here it's been almost 2 weeks. I continually have the thought of coming here to post and am forever getting ideas that would warrant a blog addition, but when I sit in front of my computer, too many other things distract me.
Of course, this past week has been an up and down rollercoaster with Mom. What started out as discomfort and pain in the abdomen has now led her to admittance to the hospital enduring a battery of tests to find out the cause of the pain, nausea and upset stomach, not to mention the tenderness across her lower abdomen. Doctors think it might be an ulcer, appendicitis, or something having to do with the lower intestine. Needless to say, this week has been out of whack and sleep hasn't been plentiful.
But, God is awesome...all the time, and He has his plans for why Mom's where she is. Praise the Lord she's not in pain any longer and she's not sick in any other way. I pray we'll learn the cause of what started it all.
In the meantime, life goes on and I'm trying to stay focused on my writing. I also have my web site clients and a full plate at work during the week. Juggling has become a close friend in recent years. :)
And if I'm not already glutton for punishment, I've teamed up with a PR company through a fellow ACFW member to help promote new books and authors, established and new. The way we do this is to feature an interview/review of an author/book to help spread the word and possibly host the author as a guest on your blog.
My first 2 reviews will follow shortly.
Of course, this past week has been an up and down rollercoaster with Mom. What started out as discomfort and pain in the abdomen has now led her to admittance to the hospital enduring a battery of tests to find out the cause of the pain, nausea and upset stomach, not to mention the tenderness across her lower abdomen. Doctors think it might be an ulcer, appendicitis, or something having to do with the lower intestine. Needless to say, this week has been out of whack and sleep hasn't been plentiful.
But, God is awesome...all the time, and He has his plans for why Mom's where she is. Praise the Lord she's not in pain any longer and she's not sick in any other way. I pray we'll learn the cause of what started it all.
In the meantime, life goes on and I'm trying to stay focused on my writing. I also have my web site clients and a full plate at work during the week. Juggling has become a close friend in recent years. :)
And if I'm not already glutton for punishment, I've teamed up with a PR company through a fellow ACFW member to help promote new books and authors, established and new. The way we do this is to feature an interview/review of an author/book to help spread the word and possibly host the author as a guest on your blog.
My first 2 reviews will follow shortly.
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